July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007
The School of Dentistry opened in 1953 with 4 faculty members and 41 students in the first class. There are now 534 active faculty (full time, part time, and volunteer) and 574 students studying dentistry, dental hygiene, and 8 different advanced education programs. There are 5,436 alumni located in 50 states (plus Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and Guam) and 38 countries.
PATIENT CARE
A large number of patients receive their dental care from the School of Dentistry clinics. These individuals seek care through several faculty practices because of the specialized knowledge and skill available and through a large number of pre-doctoral and postdoctoral student clinics. Approximately 98,687 patient visits occurred during the 2006 fiscal year with 800-900 patients treated each day.
ADMISSIONS
Identifying and contacting prospective minority students continues to be a high priority. Recruitment efforts also target Adventist secondary schools in an effort to inform students about careers in dentistry and Loma Linda University.
2,059 DDS applicants and 135 DH applicants were screened for admission into this year's classes: 95 dental students, 42 dental hygiene students, 20 IDP students, 6 post baccalaureate students, and 108 advanced education residents (interns, externs, and fellows included) were accepted to the 2007 entering classes. The number of students in the International Dentist Program increased from 14 to 20 students per class.
INCOMING DDS CLASS PROFILE
Religion
Adventist: 73
Other faiths: 22
Ethnicity
African-American: 6
Asian: 36
Hispanic: 8
White, non-Hispanic: 43
Gender
Female: 28
Male: 6
Academics
Cumulative GPA: 3.51
Science GPA: 3.40
Dental Admissions Test: 19.5 (Academic Average)
INCOMING DH CLASS PROFILE
Religion
Adventist: 22
Other faiths: 20
Ethnicity
African American: 1
Asian: 12
Hispanic: 2
White, non-Hispanic: 22
Gender
Female: 41
Male: 2
Academics
Cumulative GPA: 3.35
National Board Examinations
The Class of 2009 received a 100 percent pass rate in the National Board Part I examination in July 2007, and once again the LLU mean was above the national mean. Seven students scored 90 or above, and 18 received the School of Dentistry Silver Award for Academic Excellence.
Degrees Awarded
Graduation ceremonies for the School of Dentistry were held on May 26, 2007. Eighty-nine graduates received the doctor of dental surgery degree, 41 students received the bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene, and 23 students from the International Dentist Program received the bachelor of science degree. Five candidates received certificates from advanced education programs, and 11 dental specialists received their master's degrees in dental disciplines at commencement services.
FACULTY
The School of Dentistry continues to address the challenges of recruiting well-qualified full-time faculty as we continue to pursue excellence in didactic and clinical teaching. There are currently 115 full-time faculty and 230 part-time faculty appointments in the School of Dentistry.
Faculty Development
Faculty Advance Seminar presentations included: instructions in creating interactive educational programs, collaborative teaching utilizing educational technology, benefits of implant dentistry, spatial relationship study, and demonstration of electronic educational materials.
Faculty Council Meetings
Faculty Council meetings are scheduled one per quarter and others as needed for special business. The purpose of the quarterly meetings is to receive reports from standing committees, conduct the business of the School relating to faculty and programs, and provide faculty inservice education.
Distinguished Faculty Service Awards
Four Loma Linda University School of Dentistry faculty members were recognized with distinguished awards at the 2006 commencement ceremonies: Dan Hall received the distinguished service award. Jan Egelberg received the distinguished research award, Joni Stephens received the teacher of the year award, and Eric Herbranson received the alumnus of the year award.
CURRICULUM
There were no major changes in the dental or the dental hygiene programs in the past year.
Advanced Education
All programs increased in size during the past year. A clinical internship in implant dentistry is available and students pay 2/3 tuition in exchange for assisting in the clinical program. There are three new program directors: Dr. Jeff Henkin in Periodontics, Dr. Bob Trafficante in Pediatrics, Dr. Leroy Leggitt in Orthodontics. The day-long orientation program for new graduate students and residents haw been reinstated. Three new combined programs have been approved (periodontics-implant dentistry, prosthodontics-implant dentistry, periodontics-prosthodontics) and a new Master of Science in Dentistry (MSD) has been approved.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
The School of Dentistry is a major source of continuing dental education in the United States with lectures, hands-on courses, study clubs, and travel programs available throughout the year. Live surgical demonstrations have proven to be very popular, with the procedures streamed to the audience. During the course of the year there were 139 programs sponsored by the Department of Continuing Dental Education with 5,509 individuals registering.
SERVICE LEARNING
Both the dental hygiene and dentistry programs provide many opportunities for students to serve the local and international communities. The benefits that accrue when students learn through serving others was recognized when the School of Dentistry opened in 1953 and continues to be an important component of the educational program. Dental students are required to attain a minimum of 120 hours of service prior to graduation.
The goal is to graduate dental professionals who desire to represent the Lord by continuing to care for under-served populations. Increased opportunities and curriculum modifications contribute to the attainment of that goal. At graduation, the class of 2006 pledged to collectively volunteer over 656 hours a month indefinitely (7,872 hours annually) to an underserved community during their careers.
Domestic Participation:
Students: 1,019
Faculty: 217
Trips: 172
Patients: 2,752
Procedures: 4,636
International Participation:
Students: 149
Faculty: 40
Trips: 22
Patients: 4,391
Procedures: 6,756
Annual Fall Family Retreat
October 26-28, 2007 faculty, staff, and students were at Pine Springs Ranch for the Fall Family Retreat. The guest speaker for services on Friday evening and Sabbath morning was Pastor Ritchie Preuhs from the Arlington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Arlington, TX. Approximately 200 faculty, staff, and students enjoyed the brisk mountain air and companionship of family and colleagues.
FACILITY
Major addition added to the School of Dentistry is a digital x-ray equipment system.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
An architect has been engaged for the following projects:
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
The School of Dentistry finished the 2006-2007 budget year with a deficit of $831,819. This deficit was 1.7% of our budget and was offset by School of Dentistry savings. The School of Dentistry, as always, strives to increase tuition at the lowest rate possible to cover its budget.
PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT
Philanthropic support to the
A new project was the Advanced Technology Teaching Lab in which students will have at their finger-tips three-dimensional electronic media, computer, and manikin simulations of dental procedures, as well as the prevailing technologies associated with dental laboratory procedures. Gifts of $143,271 were received for this project.
Gifts received to support scholarship funds and endowments totaled more than $127,00 with a gift of $75,000 for the Pine Tree Scholarship Endowment for dental students at Loma Linda University. Additional gifts of $125,000 were received for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Endowment honoring Philip J. Boyne, DMD.
The class of 2008 initiated a systematic program of giving to build an endowment fund by the time of their graduation, with 67 percent of the class participating.
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Last Revised: Tue, Jan 15, 2008